1
as in to disband
to cease to exist or cause to cease to exist as a group or organization
the band broke up when their arguments over money grew too stressful
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stop
to come to an end
the meeting broke up when all the business for the day had been completed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to divide
to set or force apart
he broke up the rocks in the old stone wall with a crowbar, sending them tumbling to the ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to crack
to yield to mental or emotional stress
the sort of person who would be among the first to break up in a prisoner of war camp
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in to cease
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
police arrived at the scene and immediately broke up the fracas
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to disrupt
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
break up the feta cheese and spread it over the salad
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in to laugh
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound
if you break up during the skit, the audience will know that you're in on the joke
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in split
the act or process of a whole separating into two or more parts or pieces
the breakup of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism pretty much signaled the end of the Cold War
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of break up
Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026
Lord took over in the sixth and retired the first-place Braves in order before Harris broke up the hitless showing.
—ABC News, 23 May 2026
Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026
The 6-foot New Jersey native Thomas had a pass breakup and tackle for a loss in the Navy All-American Bowl and carried that into a good first spring.
—Cameron Teague Robinson, New York Times, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for break up
Verb
The Nashville alum and Klitschko began dating sometime in 2009 and broke up for the first time in 2011.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026
Lord took over in the sixth and retired the first-place Braves in order before Harris broke up the hitless showing.
—ABC News, 23 May 2026
Noun
Following her initial breakup announcement in January, the influencer came back to her social media to open up about how she's been faring since the news of her breakup hit the Internet.
—Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026
The 6-foot New Jersey native Thomas had a pass breakup and tackle for a loss in the Navy All-American Bowl and carried that into a good first spring.
—Cameron Teague Robinson, New York Times, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for break up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break up
Verb
-
The company disbanded the founding team and laid off or reassigned the 10 to 15 employees working in this specific division.—
Frank Racioppi,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
-
The school disbanded in the 1960s, and the building was torn down in the 1990s.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
Blackwood made two highlight-reel saves during a Vegas power play and stopped multiple mini-breakaways in the middle period as well.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
27 May 2026
-
Don't let a lack of sunshine stop you from enjoying a bountiful harvest of vegetables that grow in the shade.—
Rita Pelczar,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Tier One, Tier Two and Tier Three can be divided into elite clubs, those from the level just below and the wealthy middle-class, respectively.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
-
The False Comfort Of The Status Quo With firewalls in place, VLANs dividing the network and perimeter defenses monitoring network traffic, security and business leaders often believe their current controls are enough to hold attackers at bay until the next investment cycle.—
Jaushin Lee,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Minimizing soil disturbance is practiced in the springtime to loosen the soil by using a garden fork and sliding it into the soil at about a 30-degree angle, lifting up to just barely crack the soil.—
Special to The Denver Post,
Denver Post,
29 May 2026
-
Then the German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch cracked industrial nitrogen fixation in 1909, and the practical significance of the problem receded.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Last fall, three iPhones ceased to receive iOS 26 support, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR.—
David Phelan,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
-
Systems art challenged the very social system that defined what art is—and in so doing, ceased to be easily legible as art at all.—
Emily Watlington,
ARTnews.com,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
Understanding these unexpected auroras could improve forecasts of dangerous space weather, which can disrupt satellites, GPS systems, communications and even power grids during extreme solar storms.—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
26 May 2026
-
The fears that artificial intelligence will disrupt its business are alive and well, as Bank of America's sell call on the stock last week shows.—
Kevin Stankiewicz,Zev Fima,
CNBC,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
More than 100 little, laughing faces were yelling thank you.—
Brian Lamar,
Sun Sentinel,
24 May 2026
-
Speranzo laughed and disagreed.—
John Koetsier,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Noun
-
Almost everyone has a strong opinion, but into a seemingly equal split.—
Samuel S. Flax,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 May 2026
-
Radial cracking refers to vertical splits, while concentric cracking refers to splits that form in a circular pattern around the fruit’s stem.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Break up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break%20up. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
